SPRO

What SPRO does

SPRO Sports Professionals is a privately held, US-based fishing tackle company headquartered in Kennesaw, Georgia, that designs and distributes premium bass fishing equipment. The company operates primarily through direct-to-consumer e-commerce at spro.com, offering 565+ SKUs across hard baits, soft plastics, topwater frogs, jigs, terminal tackle, rods, reels, fishing line, and apparel. Its product portfolio spans price points from $3.99 basic terminal tackle to $699.99 premium rods, with a meaningful weighting toward premium professional-grade equipment. Product differentiation is anchored in proprietary scent-infusion technologies (Amino Bite), custom material formulations (TPE), Gamakatsu Nano Smooth Coating hook integration, and angler-specific design features such as the Pocket Tail and S-type swimming action.

The business model is asset-light hardware sales through a Shopify-based DTC storefront, supplemented by the US distribution of multiple premium Japanese and Korean brands—Gamakatsu (hooks, storage), Nories, Hide Up, Meiho, Sea Falcon, DStyle, Engine, Marfix, Inno Cases, and Luxxe. SPRO leverages a 20+ member pro team of Elite Series bass anglers (Dean Rojas, Chris Johnston, John Crews, Jason Christie, KGB) who co-design signature products and provide tournament-driven brand credibility. This endorsement model is the primary marketing channel, reinforced by organic social media (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube), blog content, email marketing, and a SPRO Tournaments sponsorship program. The company is small (11-50 employees), privately held with no disclosed institutional investors, and operates a domestic-centric footprint with Canadian commerce enabled and a SPRO Europe brand presence. Recent strategic emphasis is on premium magnesium-frame reels and rigorous product launch cadence.

Name

SPRO

Legal name

SPRO Sports Professionals

Website

https://spro.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

SPRO Sports Professionals is a privately held, Kennesaw, Georgia-based fishing tackle company that designs and distributes premium bass fishing equipment through a direct-to-consumer e-commerce storefront, leveraging a 20+ Elite Series pro angler team and US distribution of multiple Japanese and Korean brands.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fishing Tackle

akta.pro primary industry

General Fishing Tackle & Bait Retail (CRAMALAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Lures, Flies & Terminal Tackle Specialty Retail (CRAMALAJ), Rods, Reels & Line Specialty Retail (CRAMALAI), Boat Fishing Accessories & Rigging Retail (Downriggers, Trolling, Rod Holders) (CRAMALAM)

Keywords

• Fishing tackle
• Bass fishing lures
• Soft plastic baits
• Fishing reels
• Fishing rods

Headquarters

HQ city

Kennesaw

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Fishing Tackle Sales: SPRO generates revenue through the direct sale of fishing tackle products including frogs, hard baits, soft plastics, jigs, terminal tackle, rods, reels, line, and apparel. Products are sold at various price points from budget-friendly options to premium professional-grade equipment.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

SPRO designs and sells premium bass-fishing tackle directly to consumers, including topwater frogs, hard baits, soft plastics, jigs, terminal tackle, rods, reels, fishing line, and apparel. Products are developed in collaboration with Elite Series professional anglers such as Dean Rojas, Chris Johnston, and John Crews. The company also distributes complementary partner brands — Gamakatsu, Nories, Hide Up, and Sea Falcon — through its online storefront.

Product overview

SPRO Sports Professionals is a fishing tackle company that works with professional anglers to design and distribute premium bass fishing equipment. The product portfolio centers on SPRO-branded hard baits (crankbaits, jerkbaits, swimbaits), soft plastics (worms, grubs, stickbaits), topwater frogs (Bronzeye, Flapping Frog series), terminal tackle (swivels, leaders, tools), fishing rods, and premium reels. The company also distributes complementary Japanese brands including Gamakatsu hooks and storage, Nories, Hide Up, Sea Falcon, and Engine. Recent additions include new swimbait and finesse products, signature reels developed with professional anglers (Dean Rojas DR Elite, KGB Elite, Chris Johnston JC Elite), and specialized accessories like the Coike Keeper tackle organization system. The offering spans the full range of bass fishing tackle categories from entry-level to professional tournament-grade equipment.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Gamakatsu: Brand of fishing hooks and fishing storage products sold through SPRO
• Nories
• Hide Up
• DStyle
• Engine
• Sea Falcon
• Marfix
• Inno Cases
• SPRO Europe

Products and services

• SPRO Tools Fishing tools and accessories sold through the SPRO storefront.
• SPRO Hats SPRO-branded hats sold through the SPRO storefront.
• Wicked Weather Wear Weather-resistant apparel products for anglers, sold through the SPRO storefront.
• Durashad A shad-style soft-plastic bait for bass anglers.
• Fishing Leaders Fishing leaders (terminal tackle) sold through the SPRO storefront.
• Bronzeye Frog Series A topwater frog lure developed in collaboration with Elite Series pro angler Dean Rojas, designed for bass-fishing anglers targeting cover and surface strikes.
• Flapping Frog 65 A 65mm topwater frog lure for bass anglers seeking surface-strike action in heavy cover.
• CJ Smasher A signature lure developed in collaboration with pro angler Chris Johnston for bass anglers.
• Pocket Tail Minnow A signature SPRO soft-plastic minnow-style bait with a proprietary Pocket Tail design engineered for bass anglers.
• Sashimmy Swimmer Fast Sink A fast-sinking soft-plastic swimbait with an S-type swimming action, marketed to bass anglers using forward-facing sonar and vertical presentations.
• SPRO Power Jighead A jighead designed for pairing with SPRO soft-plastic baits for bass anglers.
• Wacky Snack 5.25" A 5.25-inch soft-plastic wacky-rig bait designed for bass anglers.
• Surface Swimmer 4.75" A 4.75-inch topwater-style soft-plastic swimbait for bass anglers.
• CJ Marabou Jig A marabou jig developed in collaboration with pro angler Chris Johnston for bass anglers.
• Coike Keeper A hook-keepers / rigging accessory tool for bass anglers using SPRO soft plastics.
• DR Elite MG 200 Reel A premium signature magnesium-frame baitcasting reel developed with Elite Series pro Dean Rojas, targeted at serious bass anglers.
• KGB Elite MG 300 Reel A premium magnesium-frame signature casting reel developed with pro angler Phil Marks, designed for bass anglers.
• E Pop 65 A 65mm popper-style topwater hard bait for bass anglers fishing surface strikes.
• JC Elite Spinning Reels Signature spinning reels developed with Elite Series pro John Crews for bass anglers.
• JC Elite MG Casting Reel A signature magnesium-frame casting reel developed with Elite Series pro John Crews for bass anglers.
• SPRO Bayshore Spinning Rods A line of spinning rods designed for inshore and bay fishing techniques, sold to anglers through the SPRO storefront.
• SPRO Rods A collection of SPRO-branded fishing rods covering various bass-fishing techniques, sold to anglers through the SPRO storefront.
• Gamakatsu Hooks (Distributed) Gamakatsu hooks (including Nano Smooth Coating technology) distributed by SPRO through its online storefront, available to anglers as standalone hooks or pre-rigged on SPRO baits.
• SPRO Apparel SPRO-branded clothing apparel for anglers and fans, sold through the SPRO storefront.

Named customers4 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• GamakatsucoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSPRO distributes Gamakatsu hooks and fishing accessories including worm hooks, jig heads, treble hooks, assist hooks, jig hooks, replacement single hooks, sabiki, storage solutions (G-Box series), and tools (pliers, knives). Gamakatsu is a Japanese manufacturer known for high-quality fishing hooks and SPRO serves as a primary distributor in the US market.
• NoriesminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorJapanese soft plastic lure manufacturer distributed by SPRO. Products include Nories Rock Claw, Flip Gill, and Switch On Trailer soft plastics.
• Hide UpminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorKorean soft plastic lure brand distributed by SPRO. Products include Stagger Craw, Stagger Stick, Stagger Wide Hog, Stagger Original, and Coike series soft plastics.
• MeihominorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorJapanese tackle storage and organization products distributed by SPRO, including Meiho VS-3043NDDM cases.
• Sea FalconminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorJapanese fishing pliers and tools brand distributed by SPRO. Products include Sea Falcon 6" and 8" pliers.
• EngineminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFishing line brand distributed by SPRO including Like Five and Like Two Five Elastomer soft plastics.
• LuxxeminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPremium Japanese fishing rod brand distributed by SPRO. Products include Luxxe Efreet rods ($699.99) and Luxxe Avenge rods.
• Inno CasesminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTackle storage solution brand distributed by SPRO.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Strike King: Premium US bass-fishing lure brand built around Bassmaster Elite Series pro endorsements and tournament-validated products. Closely comparable to SPRO in target customer (competitive and serious recreational bass anglers), price points, and pro-driven product development model.
• 6th Sense Fishing: US premium bass lure brand focused on hard baits, soft plastics, and jigheads with a strong social-media and pro-angler marketing engine. Comparable to SPRO as a similarly sized DTC-friendly challenger in the premium bass tackle space.
• Megabass: Japanese premium bass lure and rod brand built around signature designer-angler products (e.g., Shinji Ito, Yuki Ito). Closely comparable to SPRO in its use of imported premium tackle, pro-driven product design, and elevated price positioning.
• Jackall: Japanese bass lure brand with strong US presence in hard baits and soft plastics. Comparable to SPRO as a Japanese-origin premium tackle brand competing in the US bass market through tournament-driven marketing.
• Zoom Bait: US specialty manufacturer of soft plastic bass baits (worms, lizards, creature baits) widely used by tournament pros. Comparable to SPRO's soft-plastic line as a direct competitor in the bass soft-bait category.

Broad incumbents

• Shimano: Global fishing tackle and reel incumbent with a massive US presence across rods, reels, lures, and line. Overlaps with SPRO's rods/reels/line categories and is the dominant premium reel brand SPRO's new MG reel line will compete against.
• Daiwa: Major US fishing tackle brand best known for premium baitcasting and spinning reels. Directly overlaps with SPRO's expanding reel portfolio (DR Elite, KGB Elite, JC Elite) as one of the two dominant US reel incumbents.
• Rapala: Global fishing tackle giant spanning lures, rods, reels, tools, and accessories with broad US big-box distribution. Comparable to SPRO as a multi-category tackle brand, but at materially larger scale and channel reach.
• Berkley (Pure Fishing): Major US fishing tackle brand under Pure Fishing, covering lures, line, rods, reels, and accessories with extensive wholesale distribution. Comparable to SPRO as a multi-category tackle competitor with significantly larger scale and retail footprint.
• Mustad: Global hook and terminal tackle manufacturer with broad US distribution across sporting goods and mass channels. Comparable to SPRO's terminal tackle and Gamakatsu-distributed hook portfolio as a hook-category incumbent.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCXYfrpya5JrMbUG_1fRE8xw
• Facebookfacebook.com/spro.fishing.7
• Instagraminstagram.com/spro.usa

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SPRO